Durga Puja: Roads Crowded As Bengal Soaks In Festive Spirit On 'Mahasaptami'

West Bengal on Tuesday soaked in the festive spirit of Durga Puja on 'Mahasaptami', as devotees began the day with traditional rituals and pandal hoppers made a beeline for popular marquees across the state.

The day which began with traditional dips for banana plantains (symbolising Lord Ganesha's wife), in water bodies and rivers, had worshippers offering 'pushpanjali' (floral offerings) to Goddess Durga, amidst the chanting of hymns in the morning turned into a carnival by evening with crowds thronging venues, causing traffic jams.

Popular venues in the Kolkata metropolis included Sreebhumi with its realistic replica of Dubai's towering 'Burj Khalifa' landmark and Santosh Mitra Square's replica of Rajasthan's Birla Mandir as also older pujas such as at Ahiritola, Baghbazar, Chetla and College Square.

Youngsters gathered at south Kolkata's tony Maddox Square and Deshapriya Park, known for all-night 'adda' (free-wheeling conversations) sessions. Kolkata's many restaurants, clubs and coffee houses reported record crowds and some had to turn away late entrants.

While safety norms were maintained in most Puja Marquees, the crowds on the street paid scant heed to social distancing and wearing of masks, raising health concerns.

With the Met department forecasting possible rain in Kolkata and south Bengal districts of East and West Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas from Wednesday, people sought to make the most of the fair weather on Tuesday.

The West Bengal government had recently issued advisories, asking people to maintain health safety guidelines to prevent a rise of Covid cases.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who inaugurated several community Durga Puja pandals over the last few days, had also urged people to wear masks.

Police personnel could be seen making regular announcements on the public address system at various pandals asking people to wear masks and maintain safe distance with each other.

The Calcutta High Court has ordered that all Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal be made no-entry zones for the public, as was directed last year, to curb the spread of COVID-19 due to crowding.

The court has this year permitted puja rituals like 'anjali', 'arati' and 'sindur khela' inside the marquees, while directing that the relaxation will be subject to a cap on the maximum number of persons allowed, and compliance with conditions like double vaccination and wearing of masks.